Ministry of Defense: Armenia did not initially plan to participate in NATO exercises Agile Spirit 2017

ArmInfo.Speculations about Armenia's refusal to participate at the last moment in NATO's Agile Spirit 2017 exercise are inappropriate. This is stated in the
statement of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, received in ArmInfo.

"Taking into account that in a number of mass media the information
that Armenia at the last moment refused to participate in the
exercises that started in Georgia on September 3, the Ministry of
Defense of Armenia states that representatives of the Defense
Ministry, the Armed Forces and the General Staff regularly take part
in multinational exercises abroad, and at negotiations and
conferences on their planning.

The format of participation of the Armenian Armed Forces in the
exercises is determined based on the planned needs of the
international cooperation of the defense department. Taking into
account the fact that the exercises conducted in Georgia from this
point of view do not have priority for the RA Armed Forces, it was
initially decided not to participate in them and the application for
participation in them was not presented. Speculations about Armenia's
refusal to participate in the exercises at the last moment are
inappropriate, "the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It should be noted that NATO exercises Agile Spirit 2017 are held in
Georgia from 3 to 11 September. As reported by the Defense Ministry
of Georgia, Armenia refused participation in the exercises at the
very last moment. Earlier it was reported that Armenia had given its
consent to participate in the exercises in NATO. Georgian Defense
Ministry spokesman Georgi Kajarava said that it was a surprise to
them that Armenia refused to participate in the exercises.

The multinational exercise Agile Spirit 2017 is organized by the
Georgian Armed Forces and the US Marine Corps. The aim of the
exercise is to increase readiness for joint operations within NATO
forces or to respond to crises, as well as to improve interaction at
the tactical level between units of the participating countries, to
merge infantry and mechanized units, and to improve mutual
cooperation with the United States and partner countries. The
exercises are attended by the United States, Georgia, Bulgaria,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Romania. Expert circles tend to believe that
Yerevan's decision is conditioned by pressure from Moscow. It should
be noted that a similar situation was recorded in 2009, when Armenia
also gave its consent to participate in NATO exercises, but refused
at the very last moment.

ArmInfo.Armenia is an independent state, and can independently decide in which exercises to participate, and in which there is not. A spokesman for the ARF Dashnaktsutyun party bureau Hrant Margaryan commented on the refusal of Armenia to participate in the NATO exercises in Georgia.

ArmInfo.There is no political implication in the non- participation of the Armenian armed forces in the multinational military exercises of NATO Agile Spirit 2017. Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Artak Zakaryan stated this in a conversation with journalists.

ArmInfo. The Armenian delegation headed by the Chief of the Air Defense Forces of Armed Forces, Colonel Armen Vardanyan will take part in the meeting of the Air Defense Coordination Committee under the Council of CIS Defense Ministers and in the joint trainings "Combat Commonwealth 2017" in Moscow and Astrakhan from September 4 to 6.